Is It Airworthy?

With a few exceptions, the typical personal aircraft is relatively reliable. Modern, solid-state avionics rarely break, we long ago figured out how to build and maintain mechanical flight instruments and, presuming the airframe is both flown and maintained regularly, dispatch reliability of personal aircraft often can be compared to the modern automobile. But, stuff does break every now and then, usually right before were prepping to launch for a family vacation or an important business trip. Some failures automatically mean going via human mailing tube; others often can be resolved after a couple of hours in the shop. In between those two extremes are equipment failures which may reduce the aircrafts capabilities, but dont materially affect either its airworthiness, ability to fly or safety.

Key Takeaways:

• The decision to fly with inoperative equipment hinges on whether the item is legally required by FAR 91.205 for the specific type of flight being undertaken (e.g., day VFR vs. night IFR).
• If an inoperative item is not required for the flight, FAR 91.213 dictates that it must either be removed and documented, or placarded as "inoperative" and deactivated.
• Pilots must also determine if the inoperative equipment poses a safety hazard, even if not legally required, and deferred maintenance on placarded items must be addressed by the next required inspection per FAR 91.405.

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